Frozen Tears
by lalulweeb914
Summary: When Toshiro Hitsugaya first came to the Soul Society and began living with Momo Hinamori, he wasn't the icy cold soul reaper we see him as now. At one point in his life, he smiled, and he cried. And, at one point in his life, those feeling faded.ONE-SHOT


**:) this fic will be brother/sister relationship, no hitsuhina...**

**For a longer summary, it's pretty much within Toshiro's first few months of being in the soul society, before he turned into the icy, short-tempered, brat that he is now... lol I luv u lil shiro... **

**So here I go writing my little story... enjoy urself and then plz review me!**

Silvery white hair blew in the breeze softly.

"Who do you think you are, you little freak?"

Teal eyes opened painfully.

"What makes you think you can walk around here? We don't let little freaks near us!"

Blood trickled down the side of the young boy's head, coming from a large cut on his temple.

"We had better not see you around here ever again, you understand?"

No response. The boy remained still, too terrified to move a muscle.

"Well? Answer me!"

Nothing.

"I said, ANSWER!"

The teenager above him raised his foot, and brought it down on the child's side. Again and again, the older teen struck, and each time the younger whimpered, to exhausted too release the yelps that laid in his throat.

The child curled into a ball, tighter and tighter, trying to escape his pain.

"Hey! What do you think you're doing?" A female voice rang out in the clearing.

The three teenagers who were standing around turned to see a young girl, dressed in regular rukongai clothes, with pigtails and big brown eyes.

"Oh, Hinamori-chan. Hey there, what's wrong?"

"Hikan!" Momo yelled, addressing the leader of the group, "How can you say that? Get out of here, leave him alone!"

Hikan grunted, his arrogant smile fading into a frown as he looked down at the boy. "Why should I let this little thing get away, it's just some freak."

"Just because of the way he looks? That's not a good reason to hurt him!" Momo's anger turned into outrage. "Get out of here!"

The teen scowled. "Fine. But we better not see that thing around here ever again."

With some final dirty looks at the boy, the small gang left, leaving Momo standing there, glaring as they walked away.

The boy whimpered again.

"-Shiro!"

Momo ran to him, kneeling by her friend's side. Ignoring the blood, she softly scooped him up and laid him on her shoulder. Though Momo had reached the age where she barely grew anymore, Toshiro was still rather new to the rukongai, and his body was as small as a five year old's.

Gently, she stroked the locks of silver hair as the boy buried his face in her shoulder.

"What happened?"

Toshiro didn't answer for a moment, until his weak voice came from the folds of Momo's top.

"I don't know," a small sob, "I was just walking and they... They came and..."

The tears that he had held back spilled out, and the boy cried desperately as Momo held him.

"It's okay," Momo said as he gasped between sobs, "I'm here, I'll take you home and everything will be alright."

Toshiro didn't reply, only continued to cry in her shoulder.

The older girl stood, still carrying her friend, and started to walk to the edge of the woods.

"But how about we go to the river and clean you up first, Granny will be horrified if she sees this much blood on you. Is that okay, Lil Shiro?"

The boy nodded in response. The river was his favorite place to be in the rukongai. It was small, more like a creek, but it was hidden fairly well, so nobody else ever found it. Also, during the winter it froze over, and there was nothing the kid loved more than ice.

As the two moved through the forest, the sobs didn't stop. By the time Momo sat her friend into the ankle deep water, his face was red and tear-stained. Softly, she scooped water up and rubbed his face clean. They didn't say a thing to each other, as Momo pressed a scrap cloth against the bloody mess on the side of his head.

"Is that better, Shiro-chan?"

He only nodded slowly, his teal eyes turned away from Momo. The young boy was so shy that he almost never made eye contact, but Momo thought that he was even more adorable when he did.

Her face sympathetic, Momo spoke to him again.

"Maybe you should stop walking that way, okay? I know it's giving in, but for now I think that's what's best."

Tears still brimming the boy's eyes, he looked at her, getting angry. "I try! But they... they always find me and say the same thing... no matter which way I take..." Toshiro shuddered, "And then they start to get mad... and they hit me..."

Still ankle deep in the water, Momo wrapped her arms around Toshiro as he cried once again. She tugged free a knot in his hair and worked out some dirt the silvery mess. Wet tears fell with soft drips into the river water, and Toshiro tried to focus only on his friend's warm embrace.

As unfortunate as it was, this situation was quite common for him. The other children of the village were merciless in their prejudice, and even the adults shunned him. But at least the adults didn't get violent. The kids didn't know better. They saw someone they didn't like, and the didn't hesitate to take out their anger on them. That much, Toshiro had accepted.

But then the beatings got worse and worse, from just small slaps to what felt like torture in a way that couldn't have been spontaneous. There was nothing that Toshiro wished for more than to just be accepted. Of course, that wasn't possible, but even if they just ignored him, that would be enough. He had Momo and Granny, the two people in all of Rukon who didn't hate him. He would give anything to even just have everyone else leave him alone, as long as he had Momo and Granny.

"Okay! All set." Momo stepped back and tried to smile for Toshiro's sake. But the boy stared down at the running water, sniffling as he continued to hold back tears.

Momo frowned. "Oh, come on, Lil Shiro, don't be so cold."

She stared impotently at the unamused child until an idea dawned on her. With a sly grin spreading across her face, she bent forward, scooping water into her hands. As Toshiro's gaze was directed at the water floor, she smiled even wider and splashed the clear liquid into his face.

The child backed away with a yelp of surprise. Flustered, his hands flew to his face as Momo giggled.

"Wha- what was that for?" He asked weakly as he rubbed water out of his teal eyes.

"Aw, Lil Shiro, you know how this goes." She teased, "If you don't fight back you're gonna get wet!"

Toshiro cringed as Momo scooped more ice cold water at him.

"Momo... I don't want to..." He stepped back in shock as the water hit his side, but his foot landed on a slippery rock. Water flew through the air as Toshiro slipped, leaving him sitting with the water up to his chin

Momo covered her mouth with her hands to hid her smile. "Oh, I'm sorry Shiro, I didn't mean to-"

She gasped in surprise as Toshiro splashed water back with vengeful rage. She coughed out the water that had made it into her mouth and looked down.

Toshiro was grinning as he watched her shake the liquid out of her hair. Standing up, his mood lightening, he said,

"You asked for it, Momo."

She giggled, dodging one of his splashes only to be caught by another. Water flew through the air over and over, the two playing a game that always cheered them up. After what only seemed to be minutes, Momo and Toshiro had both slipped again and were sitting in the water, laughing and soaked.

Remembering the time, Momo looking over at the sun, which was slowly falling to the horizon.

"We should get back, Lil Shiro... hey!" She shouted in surprise when he splashed her again playfully.

Getting to her feet, she walked to him, her smile genuine. "Come on, you. I was serious, Granny will be worried."

Toshiro frowned stubbornly, but then softened as she picked him up out of the water. When she set him down by the edge of the river, he smiled softly, and turned with her to begin walking out of the clearing.

Surprisingly, the two were silent going home. Toshiro was a little behind Momo, and stared at her back curiously.

_When did I get in such a good mood?_ He wondered. Whenever he was Momo, time flew by, and he never noticed how much happier he was around her.

His teal eyes shimmering up at her, he stepped forward and wrapped his hand around hers.

"Hm?" She looked down at the little boy who had just gripped her hand. Continuing to stare ahead of him, Toshiro was quiet, too shy to look her in the eye.

Finding herself smiling again, she stopped, causing Toshiro to turn and look at her.

"What?" He asked lightly.

Crouching down, Momo put her free hand on his white hair, keeping the other in his.

"You're just so cute" Her smile fell a little. "I don't see why anybody would want to hurt you."

"I'm... cute?" he asked, his head cocking to the side. If anybody had ever used a word to describe him, it would be cold, or freaky. Nobody had ever called him cute.

"Yeah. Cute. That's the word for you." She smiled again at the innocent confusion in his eyes. "Let's go. Granny is still waiting, right?"

She picked him up once more, and he leaned lovingly on her shoulder.

Within the next hour, they arrived home, and Momo explained to Granny what had happened while Toshiro curled up into the folds of the blankets, trying to ignore the tears that welled in his eyes. It wasn't long later, after Momo had finished and then was finding her way into her own bed, that the boy lifted his eyes to feel a warm hand on his shoulder. Turning, he came to see his grandmother giving him a soft and sympathetic look. Without a word spoken between the two, Toshiro inched forward onto his grandmother's lap, and she held him through that night, stroking the boy's silvery hair and comforting him as only a grandmother could.

The next day, Toshiro found himself steadily taking one step in front of the other along a dirt road that led to the main part of the village. Momo had strongly protested that he leave on his own, but the boy was unusually stubborn, insisting that he would handle it. In truth, he was terrified. But after the amount of tears he had shed the night before, he didn't want to be treated like even more of a little kid. He didn't particularly enjoy all the pity the bestowed upon him.

As he entered the main village, the boy made a straight line to the dumpling store, trying to do the shopping he knew his grandmother needed done. He could feel the stares of several people around him, but when he looked, their eyes immediately turned away, and conversations were hastily continued.

Toshiro ignored them as best he could. This was the usual scenario when he placed a foot into the village, and, if it was possible to get used to such treatment, the boy was becoming about as used to it as you could get. He only hoped Hikan and his group of thugs weren't anywhere nearby.

After buying a few dumplings from a very rude cashier, Toshiro considered his options for a way home. Without any idea that didn't involve Hikan getting angry at him, the boy solemnly decided to just go back the way he came, merely hoping he could avoid trouble.

Momo sighed heavily, sweeping a broom back and forth across the front of the small house she shared with the other two. With a flick of her wrist, dust went floated away as her mind wandered, worrying for Toshiro above most other feelings. Despite his breakdown the day before, the boy had always been very independent, most of the time stubbornly insisting that he'd do whatever needed to be done on his own. Over the few months that Hinamori knew him, the boy cried frequently, but she could tell he was only becoming more and more distant from everyone.

Even as she continued to harbor concerns for the boy, she heard someone shout her name. Glancing upward, her eyes met Toshiro, trotting up to her and holding out a bag of dumplings.

"Here." As Toshiro held them out, Momo smiled softly, noting his face almost looked triumphant.

"So," She took the bag and started into the house. "No problems?"

The boy shook his head, and a smile crossed his lips. "Nope. You wanna go back down to the river?"

She gave him a nod in consent, not wanting to sully this good mood of his. As she leaned the broom against the wall, her smile widened and she joined him in a race down to the river.

* * *

Hidden behind a wall of leaves, Hikan gave a grunt of dissatisfaction. By his side, his friend, Hayato, glanced at him worriedly.

"So... you really want to do this?" Hayato's doubting words earned him a glare from Hikan, and the teen narrowed his black eyes.

"What the hell does Hinamori-chan think she's doing? Why does she care about that little piece of shit?" Hikan stood from his hiding place behind a group of bushes near Toshiro's grandmother's house. After having watched the encounter between Toshiro and Momo, Hikan only felt angrier at the little boy, and now, Hinamori as well.

"But... Hikan, don't you think that you're taking this too far? He's never actually done anything to us..."

"He's never done anything to us! Is that what you think!" Hikan's short temper rose in rage. "That freak thinks he can just walk around and act like there's nothing wrong? He's so weird, it pisses me off!"

Hayato stared at his friend curiously. While Hikan tried to put words to his hatred, it wasn't something he could explain. Simple prejudices bring on a sort of unjustified anger that could not be explained.

"He's not gonna get away with this..." Hikan muttered, his eyes glinting with a melancholy aura.

* * *

Toshiro gingerly stepped into the freezing water, and he dared a grin as the enjoyably cold water caressed his ankles.

"Jeez, lil' Shiro, I don't know how you can stand that water... it's so much colder than yesterday..." Momo gave a small shiver, but she stood on the rocky shore, not the water much too cold for her to stand.

Turning and giving her a little smirk, the boy stooped over and flicked some of the water at her, bringing on a squeal of shock.

"Lil' Shiro! You're so mean!" She ran further away from him, and backed behind a rock, though she kept her head peeked over the side. "No water fight today, it's too cold!"

The boy's smile remained across his face. He couldn't disagree more. While he remained mostly silent, he wiggled his toes in the shallow water, thoroughly enjoying the freezing cold, and the way the water ran across his skin, embracing him but not devouring him. To Toshiro, this was his greatest pleasure.

And then it all came to an abrupt end.

Toshiro's peaceful moment in the ice cold water was shattered by a high pitched scream. His smile immediately fading, the boy's eyes widened as he turned around to face Momo once more.

"Mo... Momo...?"

Hikan's grin was wide and lopsided as he held the boy's friend by her hair. Fully relishing the look of horror in Toshiro's eyes, he tightened his grip as the girl struggled.

"Hikan! What the hell do you think you're doing! Stop it!" Her hands wrapped around his as she tried to push him away. "Let go!"

Grunting in rage, the teen obliged, tossing her to the side. Momo gave a gasp of shock, her head hitting hard rock. Collapsing, she struggled to regain her breath, though she couldn't get herself to her feet.

"Why... why are you...?" Tears lined Toshiro's eyes as he stumbled backwards, falling with a small splash into the water. He had never expected them to hurt Momo, but he couldn't understand why they did anything they did.

"You're just a little freak, a piece of shit." Hikan's eyes were narrowed and yet his pupils were small, focusing on Toshiro as he started towards the small boy, a large stick in hand. "What gives you the right to have fun?"

Toshiro backed away in the cold water as Hikan advanced, his teal eyes growing wider. His heart raced, pounding away as fast as it always did when in presence of this particular teenager. The tears he so desperately tried to hold back fell down his cheeks, splashing into the crystal-like water with tiny plops. He didn't understand. He just didn't understand. What in the world did he do to deserve their hatred?

Hikan brought the thick branch down on the boy. Toshiro scrambled to evade it, but the hard wood scraped deep into his shoulder, bringing a yelp of pain into his mouth.

Across the area, Hayato and Hikan's few other friends came around Momo, and some of them also advanced towards Toshiro, feeling the same burning hatred as Hikan.

"St-stop it... stop hurting him..." Momo raised her head defiantly, though she couldn't get her self to her feet.

"Shut up!" One of Hikan's buddies grabbed the girl's thin arm and pulled up, dislodging her shoulder.

The ensuing wail hit Toshiro like a boulder. His tears fell harder, and his eyes widened, no longer caring that Hikan was raising the branch once more.

"No... Momo... leave her alone..."

Tossing the shocked girl down once more, the same teenager planted a foot in her stomach and the girl gasped helplessly, whimpering in sudden pain.

"...Leave her alone..." Toshiro's eyes suddenly met her blood as some of it splattered from her mouth, and something just snapped in the back of his head. He didn't hear himself screaming, or the water rushing around him. Everything blurred, and the only thing for the next couple minutes that the boy felt was cold. Icy, freezing cold that he adored, surrounding him, almost... almost like it was trying to speak to him, and an sort of a presence, a feeling that he wasn't alone, even within his own soul. And later, the boy could've sworn he caught glimpse of a dragon.

But to Hikan and the others, what they beheld was possibly the greatest thing their eyes could meet. The water around the boy's ankles froze, and, within the blink of an eye, the ice spread through the entire river. Before anyone could comprehend what had just occurred, the ice exploded around the boy's feet, rising around him so quickly that the others could barely believe their eyes.

It was seconds later that they remembered to scream, as the sheets of ice and flowing water fled from the boy and sped towards the remaining teenagers. All of them, including Hikan, fled as fast as their legs could carry them, their screams drowned out by the water that followed closely behind. By the time their shrieks faded and the water had melted back into it's original state, the sun was high in the sky, and Toshiro's limp body laid on the shore.

Momo could hardly believe her eyes. Still laying on the ground where the boy had left her, she gaped in shock. Her friend was collapsed on the pebbled shore, thoroughly exhausted from using a power that was not yet supposed to be his.

Scrambling towards him, Hinamori ran forward, gripping her shoulder. As she came to a stop by his side, she shook him gently, her eyes wide.

"Shiro...? Lil' Shiro...?" Her voice was weak from the surprise, but she begged him to awaken nevertheless. As the boy opened his teal eyes, Momo was met with another sight she wasn't expecting.

There were no tears, no emotion of confusion, anger, or remorse. The eyes of Toshiro Hitsugaya, for the first time since Momo met him, and certainly no the last, were as cold as the half-melted ice around them, not yet frozen, but slowly coming on it's way.

**OMG I finished...I hope ya'll liked it! **

**I've gotta go, Fairy Tail is calling to me... I wanna watch it... so I hope you enjoyed my first one-shot, and plz don't hesitate to review!**


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